The Zelda games have a lot of fans and people are always eager to pick up the latest release to enjoy some high-quality gaming. There's also been plenty of opportunity to revisit previous instalments in the series, and indeed The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has seen a few re-releases since first appearing on the Nintendo 64 back in 2000. It was included on the GameCube's The Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition compilation, then saw a Virtual Console release on the Wii and (most recently) appeared on the 3DS as a wonderful glasses-free-3D remaster. Expect to be able to purchase it on the NX around 2018, but for now it's the turn of the Wii U eShop to ask for money to re-experience Link's quest in the world of Termina.

If you've not played Majora's Mask before, know that it is a cracker, providing plenty of entertainment with its dark, different-from-the-norm tale that engrosses from start to finish. You begin the game by encountering the menacing Skull Kid who promptly turns you into a Deku Scrub and runs off with your ocarina. It's not long before you find yourself in Clock Town, where you soon realise you have more to worry about than returning to your normal form.

As the town prepares for its Carnival of Time celebrations a menacing-looking moon slowly descends from the sky. You have three days to stop it (game time: a little over an hour) which unsurprisingly is insufficient. Luckily you are able to regain your ocarina and perform the Song of Time to throw yourself three days back in time. The good news is you're safe, the bad news is the moon is still falling. Cue lots of reliving the three days as you run around like a Hylian Bill Murray trying to figure out a way to stop it and prevent everyone facing a fiery death.

For the 3DS the extra power of the handheld was used to give the visuals an upgrade whilst retaining the look and feel of the Nintendo 64 original. The aim may have been to recreate the game as people remembered it, and if that was the intention then the reality of what is now downloadable to your Wii U is somewhat blockier and with lower resolution textures.

Of course Virtual Console releases (cheaper than a retail 3DS title) are about providing the original versions of games, and although you'll encounter objects with sharp corners that threaten to take your eye out, Majora's Mask is one of the better looking N64 titles. A good variety of locations and characters, combined with decent effects such as rain, flickering flames and an effective day-to-night cycle, make for a game that holds up well. It's not all good news however as this Virtual Console release has met with a terrible fate; it's the slower 50Hz version.

Inferior 50Hz editions of games have long been a problem in Europe and Oceania although the situation is improving. It is actually a rarity for a 50Hz game to turn up on Wii U but the short list of titles includes some big name games (see also: Super Metroid and Ocarina of Time). Presumably the reason Nintendo has inflicted 50Hz on us for Majora's Mask is because of the multiple languages included (English, German, French, Spanish), but the GameCube release also supported these languages and was 60Hz. Unfortunately the GameCube edition suffered sound glitches and sometimes froze, so to date (and somewhat frustratingly) there has yet to be a release of the N64 version in these regions without some kind of an issue.

Putting that aside, the quality of the game still shines through and should you upgrade your Wii copy, you'll gain rumble support as well as the usual Miiverse integration, restore point functionality and the ability to use the GamePad controls for comfy off-TV play.

As is to be expected from a Zelda game there's plenty of exploration and battling throughout and it's as enjoyable as its ever been. The inclusion of a repeating three-day cycle works well, shaking up the formula and adding a sense of urgency to proceedings. You can keep jumping back in time as needed and additional songs can be used to manipulate time to your advantage, but you have to carefully consider your approach to a task if you are hoping to complete it before the moon comes crashing down. If you do run out of time be sure to bank your rupees before travelling back, or your acquired wealth will be wiped out.

Characters you encounter add to the atmosphere. Initially unconcerned by the moon, their mood changes over the three days until those who haven't fled are stuck looking on in fear as the end approaches. It's somewhat disconcerting to then jump back in time to find them cheerfully oblivious to what is to come and for them to then go through the same cycle of emotions again. The music also plays a big part in this, beginning with breezy cheerful tunes and ending up considerably more menacing towards the end.

As you make progress more areas of the world open up to you and, as well as learning new songs, a number of masks are collected that allow you you to interact with different characters and provide some useful abilities. For example the Deku Mask allows you to shoot out of flowers for flight whilst the Zora Mask is the preferred option for speedy swimming. The main quest provides plenty for you to do, but if you want more there are also a number of side quests to keep you occupied throughout the game. On occasion it may not be obvious what you need to do to proceed, but if an elongated bout of head-scratching has taken up a huge chunk of time you can of course hop back to the start of the cycle and try again.

Conclusion

Obviously it's not as impressive looking as the 3D remaster, but this is a good-looking N64 title. Offering the usual blend of action and adventure, the game is enjoyable to play through with the repeating three day cycle giving this particular adventure a different feel to other entries in the series. Music, lighting and the mood of NPCs add to the atmosphere as the end of the world approaches. There's the disappointment of 50Hz for PAL gamers, but look past the slower-moving gameplay and Majora's Mask is still an excellent game.

I don't know if I would get this if it was re-released in North America. I do love the game and I would get it at a discount having previously bought it on the Wii. I have grown to love the controls of the 3DS remake. It just feels easier to control to me.

@SpykeKat Alright, once I'm secure with my money income and understand/trust the workings of the bank, I'll give it a buy. Probably name my character after Oki from Okami. Have you played Okami, if not then I'd definitely recommend it, you can get it fairly cheap on ebay. The copy I bought was sealed and only cost 13 quid.

Honestly, I can't play the N64 version after the 3DS one spoiled me. Though I played te N64 one first, I just couldn't get into it due to some archaic design choices of the times. The 3DS version took the original idea of the game and fixed all of those archaic parts, so there's not much reason to go back for me.

@peeks TV. I have the 3ds versions and the N64 originals and I replay the N64 versions because I don't want to stare at a 3ds for hours at a time. If Nintendo made a 3ds player for a home console I'd finish way more 3ds games in a more timely fashion.

So this isn't even optimised 50 Hz? From what I understand most of the 50 Hz releases thus far have been optimised to run at a speed that's similar to 60 Hz. That would be a shame, because I still like the N64 version much better.

@peeks I have the 3DS version and I'd go back to the N64 version for one reason - Zora swimming. Two main issues with it in the 3DS, one is speed. I understand why they changed and slowed it down but it just does not feel as graceful and powerful as in the original and you don't get that feeling of being an awesome Zora. And the second main reason is that there is no option whatsoever to invert the Y-axis controls. In the original the Y-axis was inverted with swimming, in the 3DS it is not and there's no option to change it and as much as I try it just doesn't feel right and I can't get used to it and it's very uncomfortable. Actually stopped playing the 3DS remake after a couple of hours as a Zora. Was really enjoying it up until that point.

@TadpoleSHero Yess! forgot about the swimming. As a person who used to spend hours just freestyling as a Zora, messing up the swimming is an automatic detractor for me. What is it about the water elements that Nintendo has to nerf? Did that many kids have issues? I remember the water temple being a breeze (I had more issues with morpha itself) and didn't get all the complaints about the iron boots in OoT.

how come the Wii U's version is so dark? Nintendo has always prided themselves with quality work, but the Wii U still has a terrible N64 emulator. (o_O )

I have Ocarina of Time on both Wii U and Wii and can go back and forth pretty easily and the Wii version is way better. Sorry Nintendo. I want to buy this, but not until you fix your 64 VC games. Hopefully the NX won't have the same issue.

There's just something about Majora's Mask that I don't like. I can't really put my finger on it, but I just don't have a ton of fun while playing. I'm at the Water Temple, which is much worse than Ocarina but nowhere near as bad as Twilight Princess. I'm stuck, but that's not why I dislike playing the game.

It gets way too much credit. Majora's Mask is basically the hipster of the Zelda franchise. Everyone that says they like it says it's because of the "dark" atmosphere, but ignore the fact that it didn't tell a narrative as well and lacked as much substance as Ocarina. Ocarina of Time is the superior game, but because this is the popular opinion, hipsters have taken to Majora's Mask as the best because they see it as being overlooked compared to Ocarina, when it really wasn't. It got great reviews and sold very well at launch. It's not like Earthbound, another game made popular by hipsters, which sold horribly and was met with negative reviews. Gaming hipsters latched onto it and made it a very well-known SNES game, thus taking it into the mainstream. Majora was always popular, always well-liked and sold well, but because Ocarina was always more popular, more well-liked and sold even better, for good reason, Majora hipsters reject it as the best game. So not only do you have the fact that Majora is a really good game, but you've also got vocal hipster support, and all of a sudden it pops up at #3 on best Zelda games lists instead of where it should be in my opinion. I just think that the "dark atmosphere" isn't a reason enough to love the game over Ocarina, which is far better in every measurable way, and Twilight Princess, which was even darker. The only provided reason for liking Majora is atmosphere, which Twilight Princess had in spades. That's just my view on it, though.

This review seems to have come out of the blue. Was MM released on the Wii U eShop in EU or something?

Anyway, I already own the 3DS version so there is no reason for me to play the old version. Sure Zora swimming was changed for the worse but that's the only real negative change I can say there is. All the massive improvements are more than enough to still make the 3DS version the superior version in my eyes.

I feel like Nintendo are mostly releasing the same N64 games to the Wii U VC that they did on the Wii.Now, I don't own a Wii U but if I did, I wouldn't rebuy them; I'd want new releases. There are plenty of Nintendo IPs from the N64 not released + few third party games. That would interest me more to see (as much as I LOVE MM).

@happylittlepigs Just my two cents. I prefer MM over OoT because it is more organic. You have a world on the brink of destruction and and still people are living their lives and having problems and successes that have nothing to do with the impending demise of a whole world (that they aren't even really aware is coming). So many smaller stories are woven together to create a more meaningful and yet still very simple narrative. The world is no longer pivoted only in focus of the conflict between good and evil...heck most of the citizens have no idea what awaits them. Unlike in OoT where the entirety of Hyrule felt the effect of ganon's rise to power and no hero to stop him.

Link is no longer a lofty, mythological hero as he is in the majority of the Zelda mythos. I say this in terms of his role as the bearer of the triforce of courage and the wielder of the master sword since his actual origins like many mythological heroes are footnotes most of the time. Instead you see this hero at a point in time that is often ignored by myths: his childhood. He still has the courage of a hero and the memories of his time as the Hero of Time but honestly at this point despite all that he is really just a kid looking for a lost friend. The counterpoint of skull kid who is also a child looking for friendship and belonging brackets this very human (mortal) story. Even majora is unique in that it doesn't lust for power. There is a hunger but even do this day given the reaction to the fierce deity mask I wonder if there is far more than a need to destroy in its actions. I will say that is the one thing that I wish Nintendo would flesh out. The manga has its own take but I don't accept that as word of Miyamoto. Ganon on the other hand is driven by a need to conquer merely for power's sake. He is evil because there must be evil in the world to balance good. Which works for a myth but fails to invoke an empathetic response (in me anyway).

Yet at the same time Link is the lynchpin in all of this. He is aware of the impending fate of the world and the scary part is if you take out the game mechanic he can't be hero to everyone. Just doing Kaifei's quest blocks out so much. Its a game of endless failure and yet endless success much like life itself. That is why it has always been one of my top three Zelda games. I played this game originally as a child and felt that gravity of the story line. Yet OoT has always felt like reading a myth...epic and fun but ultimately alien.

@Ryu_Niiyama I never had issue with either game's water dungeons. Then again I did use a game guide!

Growing up Ocarina was my favourite but as I grew older I found myself preferring Majora for being more mature and interesting. I didn't know English very well as kid so many of the timed sidequests were lost on me, but now they're probably the best part of the game for me, aside from being badass Zoras and Gorons

@kobashi100 Agreed, the 3DS versions of both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are better than the original games. Now Ocarina of Time 3D is discounted and probably Majora's Mask 3D will be discounted too. You guys should get OoT 3D if you haven't yet.

@whodatninja Sigh I really hate the fact that it will look like I've typed way less text but when I post it... it is a brick wall. Good job on stepping outside your comfort zone and playing games outside your native language as a kid! I did the same with Japanese games growing up.

Edit: I never used a guide but I'm a firm believer of Zelda Logic (Meaning that because the game was helmed by Miyamoto who then personally trained Aonuma Zelda games follow a certain pattern). However I also believe that one Zelda game has to break you in so that you "get" the patterns that the dev team uses. Lucky for me my trial by fire was LttP. After I beat that game the rest of them have been smooth sailing. I'd say the only problem is that I now approach all adventure games like a zelda game.

Wonder if when the US gets this in about nine months I should pay to upgrade it or not. Love the game, but I have the 3DS one. Though I paid to upgrade OoT so... Eh, might as well drop the two bucks on it, I guess.

@Ryu_Niiyama "Walls of text" just show that you're passionate about the subject!
And very few games were translated to Danish so kids like me had no other option. Basically the first 5 or so years of my gaming life, I had little idea what I was supposed to do in most games! I asked my parents for help, but they didn't understand how video games worked. Gaming really did help me becoming fluent in English early in my life!

No guides???! Then you're a more honourable gamer than I
Though it's not like I use guides all the time, but sometimes (to my everlasting shame) I get so frustratingly stuck, that I need just a little nudge in the right direction.

Finally, I get the chance to employ the use of restore points on this game. This allows for me to perfect a 12 day 100% run, unlocking Epona during the first post-prologue cycle. That's always the hardest challenge.

I suffered doing this in the Wii version, and thanks to some questionable design choices, I was unable to do this in the 3DS remake. They sped up the slowed clock. I could no longer unlock Epona on day 1.

@happylittlepigs Like you, I didn't really like the game and I realized that by the time I was about to begin the water dungeon and since haven't played to completion. I can't cite anything particularly wrong with it. I want to say its rigid structure was a factor in losing interest. Maybe it was just a case of preference.